Brace for roundabouts and analogous structures.



, PATENTED APR. 16,1907.

E. 0. SPILLMAN. v BRAOE FOR ROUNDABOUTS AND ANALOGOUS STRUCTURES APPLICATION FILED MAR. 12, 1906.

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THE NORRIS PETERS cm, WASHINGTON, u. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDWARD O. SPILLMAN, OF NORTH TONAWANDA, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO HERSOI-IELL-SPILLMAN COMPANY, OF NORTH TONAWANDA, NEW

YORK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 16 1907.

Application filed March 12,1906- Serial No. 305,570. I

To a, whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD O. SPILLMAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at North Tonawanda, in the county of Niagara and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Braces for Roundabouts and Analogous Structures, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates more particularly to brace constructions of the kind employed in roundabouts, merry-go-rounds, and analogous structures for securing the platform or floor upon which persons walk in entering and leaving the machine to the supportingarms, sweeps, or members of the machineframe. Structures of this character are frequently moved from place to place, being set up for a time atone place and then taken apart, moved, and set up in a new location.

While the machines must be strongly built to guard against possible accident to the populace, it is desirable that the parts thereof be capable of ready detachment and attachment, so as to enable the machine to be quickly and easily dismantled and again set up.

The object of this invention is to-provide an absolutely secure and rigid brace or hanger connection between the platform and frame arms or sweeps in which the braces can be very quickly and easily attached and detached.

' In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 sweeps of a roundabout, merry-go-round, or

analogous structure, B the circular platform, floor, or rim upon which persons step in entering and leaving the machine, and C the braces connecting the platform and sweeps. In the apparatus illustrated the sweeps radiate from a hub rotatably supported on a center-pole a and are supported near their outer ends by wheels I), which are journaled in brackets depending from the sweeps and travel upon a circular track I) on the ground,

and the platform B is supported below the sweeps -by the braces C and the bearingbrackets for the wheels I); but this construction is not essential to the invention.

Two of the braces O are provided at the outer end of each sweep, and they diverge or spread laterally downwardly and also incline outwardly from their connections with the sweep to their connections with the platform, each brace having a substantially upright upper end 0 for attachment to the sweep and a substantially horizontal foot 0 for attachment to the platform similar to the braces heretofore used. In the old constructions the lower ends ofthe braces are bolted to the platform, and the upper ends of each pair are secured to the sweep by two bolts passing through the sweep and braces. Considerable time is required to remove and replace the bolts for the upper ends of the braces, and the bolts are frequently lost, thus causing much inconvenience.

In the construction forming the subject of this invention the feet 0 of the braces are fastened to the platform by bolts d, as usual; but instead of bolting the upper ends of the braces to the sweeps they are detachably connected therewith in. the following manner: Brace-plates or brackets E are fastened to opposite sides of the sweep in any suitable manner, conveniently by connecting bolts (3, passing through the sweep, and the braces are provided with hooks or parts at their upper ends adapted to detachably interlock in holes in the brace-plates. Preferably the upper end of the brace, which is wide and flat, is bent to form an upwardly-projecting hook F, extending the entire width of the brace,to which it is joined by a shoulder portion f, and the brace-plate is provided with a'narrow horizontal slot G of a size to receive and hold said hook, The upper edge of the slot 9 is preferably beveled, as shown at g, to enable the hookF to be easily inserted therein when the brace is raised to a substantially horizontal position. Where a flat brace-plate is used and secured directly against the side of the the slot when the brace is moved to a position l sweep, as shown in the drawings, the sweep is recessed opposite to the slot of the plate sufficiently to receive the brace-hook and allow the necessary movements of the hook in in serting it in and removing it from the slot. After the hook is inserted in the slot and the brace turned down to the position shown in the drawings and bolted to the platform it will be securely and rigidly held from movement. The shoulder f, bearing against the edges of the slot, will prevent any swinging or swaying of the brace in the direction of the length of the sweep as well as any vertical move' ment thereof. The bearing of the upright upper portion of the brace against the face of the plate will prevent movement of the lower end of the brace toward the sweep, and

- the opposite movement of each brace will be prevented by its companion brace at the op posite side of the sweep. The detachable interlocking connection thus holds the brace with all the security and rigidity of a permanent connection, and yet to detach the brace from the sweep it is only necessary to unbolt its lower end from the platform and swing it upward far enough to allow the withdrawal of the'hook F from the slot 9.

'I claim as my invention 1. The combination with a frame member and a platform, of a connecting-brace for the same, and a braceplate secured to said frame member, one of said parts'having a slot, and a hook on the other part shaped to engage in said slot, said hook being held from withdrawal from said slot in the normal position of the brace and being removable from at an angle to said normal position, substan- 5 tially as set forth.

2. The combination with a frame member and a platform, of a connecting-brace for the same, and a brace-plate secured to said frame member, said plate having a slot, and a hook on said brace shaped to engage in said slot and interlock with said plate in one position and to be removed from said slot when turned to another position, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination with a sweep and a platform, of a connecting-brace for the same secured to said platformand having an offset hook at its upper end, and a plate secured to said sweep and having a slot in which said hook interlocks, said hook being removable from said slot by turning the brace to a substantially horizontal position, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination with a sweep and a platform, of a brace-plate secured to said sweep and having a slot, a brace secured to said platform and having at its'upper end an upwardly-projecting hook which is joined to the brace by a horizontal shoulder portion, said hook being shaped to enter said slot and bear against the inner side of said braceplate, and said shoulder portion being shaped to bear against the edges of said slot, substantially as set forth.

NVitness my hand this 3d day of March,

1906. EDWVARD O. SPILLMAN.

Witnesses F. WV. FRrrsoHE,

W. W. KLINGENSOHMITT. 

